One of Australia’s most brutal industries, the NRL seldom sees a season go by without at least one coach getting fired.
The Wests Tigers have given a rookie the task of tidying up what is possibly the worst disaster in the last ten years.
In 2024, Cameron Ciraldo, one of the most sought-after coaches in recent memory, will have to start performing at the Bulldogs to match his lofty reputation.
But the man under the most pressure is Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou who is trying to pick up the pieces after a disastrous finish to 2023.
Premiership winners Des Hasler and Shane Flanagan have both started afresh at new clubs, while Anthony Seibold and Todd Payten are also out to prove a point.
Here foxsports.com.au has given every NRL coach’s pass mark for 2024 and the likely consequences of falling short.
WESTS TIGERS
Coach: Benji Marshall
2023 finish: wooden spoon
2024 pass mark: sign two stars
There’s plenty of hope among the Tigers faithful that club legend and now rookie coach Benji Marshall can drag them off the bottom of the ladder.
But his first 12 months won’t be measured on wins as much as they will be on which signatures he can secure on the open market.
Marshall, 38, was appointed in large part due to his high standing in the game and close relationship with current NRL stars who he played with and against just two years ago.
The Tigers board will be able to live with another bottom-four finish in 2024 if Marshall can sign two big names for 2025.
Marshall is currently chasing Panthers star Jarome Luai and he’s also keen on Warriors wantaway Addin Fonua-Blake.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
Coach: Shane Flanagan
2023 finish: 16th
2024 pass mark: get three players picked for Origin
Nobody is expecting Shane Flanagan to produce miracles, with a roster lacking depth, in his first season as a head coach since 2018.
But onlookers are definitely expecting to see improvement at the Dragons and that can only happen if their best players are firing.
Flanagan told foxsports.com.au he wants Jaydn Su’a and Jack Bird playing Origin again next year and declared Moses Suli also has the talent for the arena.
Ben Hunt is a certainty to play for Queensland but if another two Dragons get selected it’ll be a clear sign that Flanagan has the club heading in the right direction.
If four players get picked then expect St George Illawarra to play finals for the first time since 2018.
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
Coach: Cameron Ciraldo
2023 finish: 15th
2024 pass mark: concede less than 22 points per game
There’s no two ways about it, Cameron Ciraldo was the most sought after rookie coach in 2022 and he didn’t live up to the hype in 2023.
The Bulldogs underperformed badly this year with stars Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr and Viliame Kikau all producing indifferent campaigns.
The arrival of general manager Phil Gould in 2021 and then Ciraldo was supposed to turn things around at Belmore, but instead they fell three spots on the ladder from 2022 to 2023.
Canterbury’s attack slightly improved this year but their defence fell off a cliff as they went from allowing 23.9 points per game to 32.
The NRL’s premiership-winning side usually concedes less than half of that, typically around 15 points per game, with the Panthers allowing just 13 on average in 2023.
